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Paul Burmistriw came from a modest immigrant family. Newly engaged to be married, he was a uniformed police officer assigned to guard the Hilton Hotel, which was hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting.

It can now be revealed Paul Burmistriw wasn't even supposed to be at work that day – he had accepted an overtime shift to help make ends meet.

“He wasn’t on roster … he put his hand up for the overtime gig,” Wal Burmistriw recalls.

“As I say, life was tough. He’d bought a home and every dollar counted, so that’s why he took it on.”

Two men were charged over the Hilton bombing, with one serving eight years in jail. ()

It was a decision that cost him his life.

The Burmistriw family won't be alone remembering that awful day 40 years ago.

Rosamund Dallow-Smith was a part time worker at the Hilton. She'd just arrived for her shift when the bomb went off.

Rosamund Dallow Smith was a part-time worker who'd just arrived at the Hilton for her shift when the bomb went off. ()

“I heard this God-awful noise outside and my brain said that’s a bomb,” she told me.

“I heard this unbelievable … it was, I think, the loudest sound I ever heard. It was horrible.”

Nursing an injured hotel waiter, Ms Dallow-Smith was covered in blood. The scenes play like a slow-motion film in her mind.

“I can still see it … I can see it," she said.

First responders have spoken about the chaos and destruction at the scene. ()

Taxi driver Carlos Quaglia was parked at the kerb, waiting on a fare.

“All of a sudden there was a big impact that lifted the car and propelled me as I was sitting on the bonnet – facing the buildings. I just ran away,” he said.

To this day he considers himself lucky to be alive.

“I guess it just wasn’t my turn,” he said.

“If I was lucky enough not to have lost my life, there must be a reason.”

Senior Constable Terry Griffiths was one of Paul Burmistriw's workmates that night.